Military vaccination against Covid is below the general rate of adults

The release of the vaccine against Covid, the lack of incentives for the second dose and the absence of objective guidelines on immunization in the three Armed Forces led the Brazilian military to vaccinate less than the adult population in general.

Army and Air Force vaccination data provided to sheet through the LAI (Access to Information Law), show a significant number of military personnel without the complete immunization cycle — two doses or a single dose.

In proportional terms, there are fewer soldiers vaccinated with the two doses than the adult population in general, taking into account the data compiled by the press consortium formed by sheet, UOL, O Estado de S. Paulo, Extra, O Globo and G1. The data are from the State Health Departments.

The proportion of those immunized in the Army is even lower when adolescents are included in the general population of vaccinees.

The Navy, on the other hand, has no control over the vaccination of the military, according to the response provided via the Access Law. The Force is in the dark and doesn’t know how many are vaccinated against Covid-19.

The report also used LAI to ask the Air Force and Navy to inform guidelines edited by commanders during the pandemic, as did the Army command – and which was the reason for yet another short circuit in the relationship with Jair Bolsonaro (PL), due to a mention of vaccination in the established guideline. The president criticizes vaccine, mask and distancing.

The Air Force commander, Lieutenant Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior, did not edit his own guidelines for the commanded, having been based only on an ordinance of the Ministry of Defense of March 2020, still at the beginning of the pandemic.

The ordinance updates, cited in the response via LAI, did not address vaccine guidance. Baptista Junior is the most Bolsonarian of the three Forces commanders.

The Navy commander, Fleet Admiral Almir Garnier Santos, has already given public demonstrations of alignment with Bolsonarism. Garnier also did not edit his own guidelines for combating the pandemic. The Force was based on the same Defense ordinance cited by the Air Force.

On January 24, the Army reported that there were 143,512 active duty military personnel with the first complete vaccination cycle. According to the Force, the amount was equivalent to 68% of the total.

Until that moment, therefore, there were 67,500 members of the Army without the first complete cycle of immunization against Covid-19. Of this total, 21,100 had not even taken their first dose, or 10% of active duty military personnel.

Data from the press consortium for January 24th show that, on that day, 91.7% of the adult population had their first vaccination cycle complete.

Adding adolescents aged 12 and over, this proportion was 82.6% on that day. In the general population, including children, the rate of vaccinated was 69%.

“There is no term of responsibility for military personnel who do not wish to be vaccinated. Vaccination in the Army follows the National Immunization Plan of the Ministry of Health, with regard to the rules”, said Força, in the response via LAI.

The Army did not respond to questions in the report.

Army commander General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira was the only one of the three leaders of the Armed Forces to edit a set of guidelines to be adopted during the pandemic.

A document with 52 guidelines was ready on January 3. A single point, number 22, refers to vaccination against Covid.

Oliveira established that the return to face-to-face activities of military personnel and servers should be evaluated, “provided that the period of 15 days after immunization against Covid-19 is respected”.

The commander referred to the first complete vaccination cycle. But he made one caveat: “omissions” must be submitted to the General Department of Army Personnel for “the adoption of specific procedures.”

The adoption of the guidelines bothered Bolsonaro. The Army leadership considered giving a public explanation about the document, and made it known to the president that there was no change in orientation on the obligation of vaccination.

There was not even an innovation regarding rules, since the Minister of Defense, Walter Braga Netto, edited an ordinance in November 2021 with similar orientation, which was explained to the president. The crisis cooled down even before it took shape.

Immunization against Covid-19 is not mandatory in the Armed Forces. Vaccines against yellow fever, tetanus, hepatitis B and other diseases are required in the barracks and are included in the military vaccination calendar, defined by the Ministry of Defense.

In the case of the Air Force, there were no directives specific to the commander. And, among the Defense ordinances cited as guiding the fight against the pandemic, there is no mention of the one that deals with the return to face-to-face work and that provides guidance on vaccination.

In the Air Force, as of January 18, 50,355 service members had been vaccinated with two doses, or 75.9% of the total. Thus, 16,000 active members of the Air Force did not complete their first cycle at that time.

In the general adult population, on that day, the vaccination rate was 91.2%. With the inclusion of adolescents, it dropped to 82.2%.

The Force began to update the numbers and make them public on its website. On February 17, those vaccinated with the first dose were 64,500 active duty soldiers, or 97.6%. With the complete cycle, there were 59.1 thousand, 89.4% of the total.

Among adults in general in the Brazilian population, the rate reached 94.8%. And, in the general population (including children), it was 71.4%.

“Indices within the scope of the FAB exceed those of the national average,” said the Air Force, in a note, using the general population as a comparison parameter.

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, the FAB has adopted all the guidelines and recommendations of the Ministry of Health and the State Health Departments in order to guide its military personnel, civil servants, dependents and pensioners in the prevention and protection measures against the threat posed. by Covid-19,” the note said.

There were recommendations and campaigns to stop the infection by the coronavirus, which included the availability of the vaccine, according to the Force.

“The FAB’s constant concern to preserve the health of its staff without ceasing its activities in favor of Brazil is evident, with the staff on the front line of facing the pandemic.”

The Navy did not respond to questions in the report. Through the LAI, the Force reported that “it only has control of the vaccines provided for in the military vaccination calendar”, which is not the case with the immunizing agent against Covid.

“The Navy’s military, as a fraction of Brazilian society, have been complying with the aforementioned vaccination, voluntarily, in accordance with the schedule established by the country’s health authorities”, said the Navy.

The Force follows the health guidelines determined by the Ministries of Health and Defense, he said.

“The Navy has maintained a great deal of planning and control effort to preserve the readiness and readiness of the Force, while providing a safe work environment for its personnel.”